• 03 May, 2024

30 Best Fonts of 2023

30 Best Fonts of 2023

2023 has been a vintage year for fonts, with fantastic releases from major foundries and small independent designers.

We bring you the best new typeface designs every month, and every December, we round up our favorites; this year, we’ve been spoiled for choice. 2023 has delivered several type trends: sans serifs have leaned towards grotesques, display type has been bold and expressive, and there has been a very welcome Art Nouveau revival.

These are our picks for the best 30 fonts of 2023. Enjoy!

Mint Grotesk

A quirky sans with extensive options for demanding type treatments, including tabular figures. Mint Grotesk is an excellent choice for complex UI design.

01-mintgrotesk
 

MC Belotra

We love the graceful curves and modest serifs of  MC Belotra . The relatively low contrast and flared strokes are both confident and relaxed. A great mood-setter.

02-belotra
 

Hanae

Hanae   — named for Hanae Mori, the first Asian woman to join a Parisian Haute Couture house — has a generous x-height and classic proportions, making it ideal for running text. Bold and Super weights have been added since we first admired it.

03-hanae
 

AW Conqueror Stincilla

We were already fans of AW Conqueror, and when we saw  AW Conqueror Stincilla , it was love at first sight. The stencil form and sharp terminals are ideal for luxury branding.

04-conquerorstincilla
 

Korium

Korium is an attractive variable font with extremely condensed glyphs. The soft and inviting outward forms are tight and sharp on the inside, creating an edgy contemporary sans.

05-korium
 

Kolonia

We still haven’t got over the confidence of  Kolonia’s lowercase g. This sophisticated serif has a hint of traditional print about it, but some lovely details are distinctly modern.

06-kolonia
 

DT Serifia Sans

Another grotesque, this time with flared strokes that almost pop into serifs in the bolder weights.  DT Serifia Sans is virtually cartoonish and is an excellent option for displaying text.

07-serifia
 

Valpo

Exploring the difference between type and lettering,  Valpo feels like it’s been drawn with a fat marker. It’s perfect for vintage signage, and we’re still waiting to see it as part of a graphic novel.

08-valpo
 

Gamuth

Gamuth is an excellent choice for bold, confident editorial design, with a narrow width and large x-height. It has two versions: text and display.

09-gamuth
 

Nusrat

Nusrat has been painstakingly constructed around linked strokes to mimic calligraphy. The font market is crowded with scripts, but Nusrat delivers something new.

10-nusrat
 

Martina Plantijn

Named for the 17th-century printer,  Martina Plantijn is a beautiful Old Style serif that is understated at small sizes and features elegant curves at larger sizes.

11-martinaplantijn
 

Merisca

Merisca is a condensed serif that we’d like to see used in a branding project. We particularly loved the alternate designs that bring the shapes to life.

12-merisca
 

Mistica

We see a lot of all-caps display fonts that chase a vintage aesthetic, but Mistica is something special. Inspired by the South West United States, it would feel at home anywhere sun-baked.

13-mistica
 

Adjunct

The spurless design — the vertical strokes don’t extend beyond the bowl — of  Adjunct creates a minimal, and graphically bold design that is ideal for logo jobs.

14-adjunct
 

Gretha

Gretha is an excellent option for branding or display type when you can craft the letter combinations. It has a ton of ligatures and alternatives and feels very high-end.

15-gretha
 

Solfa

The heavy weight and bold graphical shapes of  Solfa are great for grabbing attention at large sizes. It’s a rugged, confident typeface that complements the Brutalist trend.

16-solfa
 

Calleo

Calleo is a modern font family that is highly legible in small sizes and on screens. It has a more experimental “Flux” version that works well as a complementary heading font.

17-calleo
 

Publish Serif

Publish   is a family of Gothic, Sans, and Serif fonts initially designed for the Danish newspaper “Dagen.” It’s a versatile set that works well for editorial design.

18-publish
 

Juneau Deco

Juneau Deco is a beautiful example of an architectural type. It was created initially for the Stalwart Group, based on Art Deco lettering adorning its Wisconsin headquarters.

19-juneaudeco
 

Moisette

Moisette sits at the mid-point between classic and modern type design. The high-contrast ratio and generous x-height are very legible. It’s ideal for any job that needs to feel expensive.

20-moisette
 

Ernst

Ernst is a stylish slab serif that works well for both running and display text. Its italics are particularly attractive and inspired by the lettering on mid-century Parisian movie theatres.

21-ernst
 

Basilar

Drawing inspiration from an early 20th-century German typeface,  Basilar is less uniform and more Humanist sans serif than similar grotesques and adds warmth to designs.

22-basilar
 

Hoppa

A distinctive loop stroke on glyphs with a bowl and stem gives  Hoppa a playful, optimistic quality. The rest of the design is a simple geometric sans, keeping it usable.

23-hoppa
 

Ada

Ada has three variations: sharp, flat, and round. It’s a contemporary calligraphic typeface based on the Ruq’ah Arabic style and expertly blends Arabic and Latin forms.

24-ada
 

Natri

Natri is a calligraphic typeface best used at display sizes. The consistent angled strokes create an engaging three-dimensional effect at larger sizes.

25-natri
 

Sprig Sans

The Humanist qualities of Sprig Sans soften the strong geometric shapes, making it an approachable corporate brand face. There are multiple weights, a variable font, and a helpful companion serif.

26-sprig
 

Tongari

Tongari is a serif font family with text and display variations, the latter employing increased contrast. It has a particularly attractive ampersand which makes it useful for logo design.

27-tongari
 

Atica

Atica is unapologetic about its construction. Inspired by early German grotesques, it’s a more interesting geometric sans than the typical corporate offering.

28-atica
 

Obbligato

Based on Mortier, the typeface designed for the defunct New Your City Opera,  Obbligato is bold, ambitious, and packed with positivity. It is crying out to be used in a branding project.

29-obbligato
 

Family

Based on the early 20th-century typeface Clearface,  Family is a highly detailed modern serif font rethought for contemporary use in demanding designs.

30-family
 

Ahmad K.

Ahmad K. is a software developer and tech writer. He is a seasoned freelance writer with lots of experience in helping clients produce content for their niche sites.